Wu-Tang Clan released their debut album Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) November 9, 1993
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) dropped 26 years ago and turned hip-hop upside down. And 26 years after that Nov. 9, 1993 release, the multi-member rap crew is on the road celebrating the anniversary.
In 1993, Queen Latifah, De La Soul, Salt-N-Pepa, Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest and more than a dozen other rappers released albums that helped to change the sound of America. One of those albums wasn't just a collection of songs — it was a business concept, too. The Wu-Tang Clan's 1993 debut was the opening shot of an audacious plan to open the music industry to hip-hop made way outside the mainstream.
When the debut album of the Wu-Tang Clan released 26 years ago, in November 1993, the group consisted of nine rappers: Robert Diggs, called RZA, his cousins Gary Grice and Russel Jones, who called themselves GZA and Ol 'Dirty Bastard , Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Raekwon and Masta Killa.
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) was the first stage of worldwide dominance for the Clan. (Meth even claims that as their goal on one of the album’s slang-saturated skits.) But while the album, its iconography and its lead singles are now solid pop culture fixtures, there’s also a mysterious underbelly to the project.
Despite its raw, underground sound, the album had surprising chart success, peaking at number 41 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 30,000 copies in its first week on sale. By 1995 it was certified Platinum and in October 2018 it was certified triple platinum. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) is widely regarded as one of the most significant albums of the 1990s, as well as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.
Listen to Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) below.
Comments